Cleveland Browns mock draft surprise: Allbright mocks Pac-10 EDGE 26th

A fun mock draft is usually a fresh mock draft, and that’s what Pro Football Network’s Benjamin Allbright delivered for fans of the Cleveland Browns on the eve of the 2021 NFL Draft.

With the 26th pick, Allbright tapped Joe Tryon, an edge rusher from Washington to Cleveland.

If you’ve been following mocks like I have for the past four months, then yeah, this is a big deal. And frankly, you could see it happening. Think back to last year: All we talked about leading up to draft night was how the Browns were going to end up with either Andrew Thomas, Tristan Wirfs and Mekhi Becton.

With only Thomas off the board, who’d the Brown take? Jedrick Wills.

Allbright’s selection is also noteworthy, because more often than not, Ben is correct when talking about transactions and signings.

So, what’s the skinny on Tryon? For one thing, I never see him mocked him the first round and that may have to do with the fact that he didn’t play last year, option out of the season due to COVID.

His NFL.com draft profile projects him to be a starter within his first two years in the league, which is great, because Takk McKinley and Jadeveon Clowney are probably short-term answers for 2021.

Per NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein, Tryon “Has just about every trait teams look for along the edge.” The 6-foot-5, 259-pound prospect starts making a name for himself in 2019 as a sophomore when he totaled 41 tackles, 12.5 of which went for loss. He added 8.0 sacks in 13 games (12 starts).

It’s the type of under the radar pick you could see the Browns making, while strengthening a “big money” position.

For what it’s worth, if Allbright is correct and Cleveland goes with Tryon, they’d be passing on players routinely mocked to them at No. 26, such as Miami’s Gregory Rousseau going to Baltimore at 27, Alabama DT Christian Barmore also going to Baltimore (31st) and Northwestern corner Greg Newsome going to Tampa to round out the first round.

I still don’t know how the Browns can pass up a corner back such as Newsome if he’s on the board, but Tryon will certainly be a name to keep in the back of your mind.